Riverfront blocked by train for over three hours

People trying to reach the Mississippi River in Hannibal early Wednesday afternoon had their way blocked by a train that was stopped on the Norfolk Southern tracks, which are the tracks furthest west on the city’s riverfront.

People trying to reach the Mississippi River in Hannibal early Wednesday afternoon had their way blocked by a train that was stopped on the Norfolk Southern tracks, which are the tracks furthest west on the city’s riverfront.

Mike Hall, Marion County 911 director, reports his agency was advised by railroad officials at 11:48 a.m. that a train was blocking access to the riverfront at Broadway, Center and Hill streets. The train was long enough to also block South Main Street.

“They said they had an emergency with a train. We verified that they didn’t need any kind of emergency services, so none were sent. They didn’t go into any further detail as to what the problem was,” said Hall.

A message left with Norfolk Southern seeking comment was not returned.

Hall added the railroad advised Marion County 911 between 2:30 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. that it had a repair crew at the scene near Bridge Street. The train was back moving again at 3 p.m., over three hours after it stopped.

Crossing blockages for the duration of time seen Wednesday are out of the ordinary, according to Hall.

“We’ll have the occasional 10- or 15-minute blockage, that’s not uncommon at all. But this long is kind of unusual,” he said, adding he hasn’t seen a crossing blockage that lasted for “multi-hours for a long time.”

When advised of today’s blockage, Marion County 911 followed operational protocols and notified emergency services.

“They (emergency agencies) have figured out different strategies for getting over the levee if necessary and how they would access that area if need be,” said Hall.

No emergency calls were received from the riverfront area during the time that the tracks were blocked.